The journey leads you into a part of India, which is incomprehensibly treated quite stepmotherly by most providers of motorcycle tours and which has also remained largely unnoticed by us so far. This should now come to an end.
Pricing
| - Prices for the date - | |
| 09.02.2024 - 25.02.2024 | |
| per rider in shared/double room incl. Royal Enfield Classic (Only available for a booking of two persons. Single travelers need to choose the single room surcharge.) | €2,990.00 $3,077.67 ? |
| per pillion passenger in shared twin/double room (pillion passengers cannot book without an accompanying rider) | €2,470.00 $2,542.43 ? |
| per person single room (surcharge - only available with an additional selection of the basic price "per rider in shared twin/double room") | €450.00 $463.19 ? |
Included
| 16 x overnight stay in hotel |
| 15 x breakfast |
| 15 x dinner |
| Rental Motorcycle |
| Operating fluids (petrol/oil) |
| Service vehicle |
| Mechanic Service |
| Tour guide |
| Airport transfer in India |
| Transfer by car or minibus to Nashik |
| Everything that is not listed under services |
More details
| Total distance: approx. 2345 km |
| Level of difficulty: easy to medium |
| Group size: 4 - 12 participants |
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| Visa: |
| Swiss, Austrian and German nationals require a visa to enter India. Your passport must be valid for at least another six months. Obtaining a visa is relatively uncomplicated. A visa valid for six months or an e-Visa valid for 30 days is sufficient. |
| Vaccinations: |
| No vaccinations are required for India. A valid international vaccination passport is required from persons entering from areas with yellow fever (certain countries in Africa and Central and South America). However, it is generally recommended to be vaccinated against tetanus, diphtheria, polio, hepatitis A and typhoid fever. As there are many different aspects to be considered in each individual case, it is always advisable to seek personal travel health advice from a doctor or pharmacist experienced in travel medicine in good time (about 4 to 6 weeks) before the trip. Here too, we recommend that you seek medical advice in good time. |
| Driving licence: |
| You need a valid German and an international driving licence of class 1 or A. Please note that the international driving licence is only valid in combination with the national driving licence. |
| Minimum number of participants: |
| If the minimum number of participants has not been reached 6 weeks before the start of the trip. In this case, we will refund the amounts paid on account. |
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| In practice, however, we always try to carry out the trip with fewer participants in your interest, if you agree. in this case, there is no service vehicle available and we charge a staggered small group surcharge: |
| 1 participant: 10% of the travel price |
| 2 participants: 5% of the travel price |
| 3 participants: 2,5% of the travel price |
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| Half double room: |
| For single travellers we offer the possibility to share a double room with another traveller. If there is no "half" double room available at the time of your booking, we will charge the single room supplement. You will be refunded as soon as a double room partner is found. |
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| Language: This offer is usually suitable for English and/or German speaking participants. Please enquire for language options. |
| Mobility: The offer is not suitable for people with reduced mobility. Please contact us for more information. |
Description
The journey takes us through four states of India. It begins in Maharashtra, continues to Karnataka, and from there to Goa, and back to Maharashtra. On the map, you can follow the course exactly.
It combines the experience of different landscapes with numerous cultural highlights. It also provides insight into the way of life in rural India.
The riding demands are not particularly high, even though some of the tracks are long and therefore strenuous, and there are plenty of curves waiting for you on the mountain tracks through the Western Ghatts.
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Itinerary:
Day 1: Arrival
The destination airport is Mumbai. Today your flight starts in Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay. Sometime during the night, you will step on Indian soil and then the adventure can begin.
Overnight stay in Mumbai
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Day 2: A day in Mumbai
After a few hours of sleep and a good breakfast, we will take the opportunity to stroll a little through Mumbai. In the vicinity of our hotel, there are some well-known sights, which can be easily reached on foot.
Overnight stay in Mumbai
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Day 3: Ride to Nashik (approx. 220 km)
After a few hours of sleep and a good breakfast, we will not board the motorcycles but a vehicle corresponding to the size of the group and be chauffeured to Nashik. After the experiences of the first MaKaGoMa tour in February 2019 we decided to take this step. The traffic in Mumbai is so heavy that we don't want to put anyone through this chaos for hours.
Shortly after noon we will reach Nashik and have enough time to explore this interesting city. We will go to the Ghatts, where at Kumbh Mela millions of devout Hindus from all over the world take a purifying bath in the holy river Godavari. The next Kumbh Mela in Nashik will take place in 2027. But also now many believers gather daily at this place.
Later we will have a look at the motorcycles and philosophize a little about the Indian traffic. But don't worry. What at first sight appears to be completely inscrutable chaos will soon lose its threatening nature, and after only a few hours we will be swimming along in a sea of trucks and buses, cars and motorcycles, cyclists and pedestrians, not to mention cows, dogs, and goats like a fish in water.
Overnight stay in Nashik
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Day 4: Ride to Ellora (about 195 km)
The next two days will lead us to some of the most important examples of Indian sacred art, Ellora and Ajanta.
Our hotel in Ellora is located only a few steps away from the temple district. Here we find some important Buddhist and Hindu cave temples, but above all, we can admire a building that is unique in the world in this dimension, the Kailash Temple.
Five generations have worked on this building. The temple was hewn entirely from a rock massif and designed from top to bottom. The communication alone over such a long period is a masterpiece, not to mention the architectural and artistic achievement.
Overnight stay in Ellora
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Day 5: Day trip to Ajanta (approx. 205 km)
In a U-shaped valley near the small village of Ajanta, Buddhist monks lived in complete seclusion from the 2nd to the 8th century. They created one of the most visited historical cult sites in India. There are 29 cave temples of varying degrees of completion in the facility. These were partly used for religious ceremonies, but also as dwellings for the monks. Since 1983 Ajanta has been listed by UNESCO as a world cultural heritage site.
Overnight stay in Ellora
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Day 6: Ride to Solapur (approx. 340 km)
The following two days are real Enfield days. There are almost 600 kilometers ahead of us and we can look forward to Indian biking at its finest. Although we will hardly experience a speed rush, and occasionally curse both the condition of the roads and the behavior of Indian road users, the bottom line is that it will be a pleasure to cruise across the expanses of the Deccan plateau.
Overnight stay in Solapur
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Day 7: Ride to Badami (about 220 km)
In the afternoon, after two great days of riding, we reach our next destination, Badami. Also in Badami, we find impressive temples and cave temples, which are attributed to different historical epochs. On the shores of a very beautifully located lake, one can get away from the loud and sometimes hectic hustle and bustle of everyday Indian life.
Overnight stay in Badami
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Day 8: Visit Badami and Pattadakal (approx. 40 km)
In Pattadakal, which we visit today as part of a day trip, we find a kind of experimental field for South Indian temple architecture. The experiments in Pattadakal also inspired the great Kailash temple in Ellora.
Just as impressive as the temple complexes are the place itself. For the attentive and reserved observer, amicable people offer an insight into their daily life. Especially photographers get their money's worth.
Overnight stay in Badami
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Day 9: Ride to Hampi (about 140 km)
After a short ride through rural India, we reach Hospet. Our hotel is located here. If you want, you can make an excursion to Hampi today, or you can stroll through the city and postpone your visit to Hampi until tomorrow.
Overnight stay in Hampi
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Day 10: Sightseeing in Hampi
In the 16th century, Hampi was the capital of the kingdom of Vijayanagar, which ruled almost the entire south of the Indian subcontinent. Today Hampi is a huge area, which inspires its visitors on the one hand scenically and on the other hand as a cultural site.
The whole area, which stretches over many kilometers, is covered with huge boulders. It looks as if giants have thrown rocks wildly around here in ancient times.
Amid this rugged landscape, partly hidden under the rocks, partly in the open plain, are numerous temple complexes, all of which date back to the time of the Vijayanagar rulers.
Overnight stay in Hampi
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Day 11: Ride to Goa (approx. 330 km)
Today is another long-riding day ahead of us. Over 300 kilometers separate us from the coast of the Arabian Sea. We're going to Goa, the former hippie colony. Our hotel is only a few hundred meters from the beach, and surely the first thing everyone will do upon arrival is to take a refreshing dip in the sea. If you want to take it easy, you can also relax at the hotel's pool and end the day with a cool Kingfisher beer.
Overnight stay in Colva Beach / Salcette
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Day 12: A day in Goa
Today you decide. If you want to recover from the strains of the last few days, you can just hang out for the day. There are more than enough opportunities for reflection. The beautiful beach invites you to sunbathe, the numerous shops entice you to go shopping and both the pool and the sea offer the opportunity for a refreshing swim.
If you are more into activity, you can set off and explore Goa by bike. He and she will see that the legacy of the Portuguese in the form of bright white churches can be discovered all over Goa. The landscape, lush green rice paddies, dense forests, and coconut plantations are a feast for the eyes and the mind after the days spent in the rather dry areas of the Deccan highlands.
Overnight stay in Colva Beach / Salcette
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Day 13: Ride to Kholapur (approx. 245 km)
We leave Goa, and now three days follow through the Western Ghatts, and that means mountain rides of the finest. Here, our Enfields have another opportunity to show their best side and prove that they are the ideal means of transport for traveling through India.
Overnight stay in Kolhapur
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Day 14: Ride to Panchgani (about 160 km)
This is where people flee from Mumbai when the heat in the megacity and air pollution become unbearable. In this place, we will experience something almost unknown in India: peace. No honking cars, no blaring loudspeakers at temples and mosques, just peaceful tranquillity and a gigantic view into a wide valley.
Overnight stay in Panchgani
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Day 15: Ride to Mumbai (about 250 km)
Another beautiful day of riding and we reach the destination of our journey, Mumbai. But we will park the motorcycles a few kilometers before Mumbai and let them drive us the last kilometers into the city again.
Overnight stay in Mumbai
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Day 16: A day in Mumbai
Now we have one more day to explore Mumbai. Everyone can arrange this day according to their own taste. You can either stay in the city itself or go by boat to Elephanta and visit some more cave temples. However, I would like to warn you that after Ajanta and Ellora, and Badami, the caves on Elephanta are rather modest. But the boat trip is really fun.
Overnight stay in Mumbai
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Day 17: Flight home
And this is also the end of this journey. If you liked it so far, visit us again in India. There's still plenty to explore. Perhaps in the Rajput state of Rajasthan, in the tropical-exotic south of the country, or even at the heights of the Himalayas. India has many faces.